Kim Ku

The Right Honourable Kim Ku
Kim in 1949
President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
In office December 14, 1926 – August 1927
Vice President	Kim Kyu-sik
Preceded by	Hong Jin
Succeeded by	Yi Dong-nyeong
In office March 1940 – March 1947
Preceded by	Yi Dong-nyeong
Succeeded by	Syngman Rhee (President of the Provisional Government)
Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
In office October 1930 – October 1933
Preceded by	Roh Baek-lin
Succeeded by	Yang Gi-tak
Personal details
Born	(1876-08-29)August 29, 1876 T'otkol village, Paegunbang, Haeju, Hwanghae Province, Joseon
Died	June 26, 1949(1949-06-26) (aged 72) Gyeonggyojang, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea
Manner of death	Assassination by gunshots
Resting place	Hyochang Park, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea
Nationality	Korean
Political party	Korea Independence Party
Children	Kim In [ko] Kim Shin
Religion	Methodism formerly Cheondoism, Buddhism
Korean name
Hangul	김구
Hanja	金九
Revised Romanization	Gim Gu
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Ku
IPA	[kim.ɡu]
Art name
Hangul	백범
Hanja	白凡
Revised Romanization	Baekbeom
McCune–Reischauer	Paekpŏm
IPA	[pɛk.p͈ʌm]
Birth name
Hangul	김창암
Hanja	金昌巖
Revised Romanization	Gim Chang(-)am
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Ch'angam
Courtesy name
Hangul	연하
Hanja	蓮下
Revised Romanization	Yeonha
McCune–Reischauer	Yŏnha

Kim Ku^[a] (Korean: 김구; August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), also known by his art name Paekpŏm,^[b] was a Korean politician. He was a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan, head of the Korean Provisional Government for multiple terms, and a Korean reunification activist after 1945. Kim is revered in South Korea, where he is widely considered one of the greatest figures in Korean history.

Kim was born into a poor farming family during the Joseon period. In Joseon's last century, it experienced several peasant rebellions and interventions from multiple global powers, including the Empire of Japan, the Russian Empire, Qing China, and the United States. Kim fought for Korean independence for most of his life, and was jailed, tortured, and permanently disfigured by Japanese authorities for his activities. He spent 26 years in exile in China, serving various roles in the Provisional Government and collaborating with the Republic of China. During this time, he founded and led the Korean Patriotic Organization and the Korean Liberation Army. He was the target of numerous assassination attempts and planned a number of his own, including an assassination attempt on Japanese Emperor Hirohito. After the 1945 surrender of Japan in World War II, Kim returned to the peninsula alongside the provisional government and tried to prevent the division of Korea.

However, in 1949, just four years after his return and just before the outbreak of the 1950 Korean War, Kim was assassinated by Korean Lieutenant Ahn Doo-hee.

While Kim is mostly celebrated in modern South Korea, he is not without his share of critics. In 1896, Kim murdered a Japanese man who he believed may have been connected to the Japanese military or even involved in the recent assassination of Empress Myeongseong. The man is generally agreed to be Tsuchida Josuke, a civilian merchant on a business trip.^[1][2] Kim was also involved in coordinating attacks against Japanese military and colonial government personnel. His legacy is somewhat less enthusiastically celebrated in North Korea, due to his anti-Communist views.

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